Sustained attention is the ability to maintain focus while performing a single task over time. It is a crucial cognitive process and plays a significant role in academic achievement, social communication, and mental health. The ability usually improves between the ages of 9 and 16 years old alongside cognitive maturation and brain development typical of this period.
Previous studies have shown that substance use, especially involving cigarettes and cannabis, is linked to impairments in sustained attention. How exactly the two are related, however, remains less clear.
In the current study, researchers analyzed task-fMRI data from over 1000 participants aged between 14 and 23 years old in Europe alongside self-report data on substance use. Ultimately, they found that behaviors and brain connectivity linked to less sustained attention at age 14 were linked to higher rates of cannabis and cigarette smoking by age 23. The findings mean that sustained attention could act as a biomarker for vulnerability to substance use.
“The widespread use of cigarette and cannabis among adolescents and young adults in Ireland and elsewhere is a significant public health concern, with major long-term health implications,” said lead author of the study, Robert Whelan, Professor in Psychology at Trinity Colege Dublin, Ireland, in a press release.
“By identifying lower sustained attention as a predictor of substance use, our findings can potentially guide the development of targeted educational programmes and cognitive training interventions to improve attention in adolescents identified as vulnerable to substance use. This proactive approach could reduce substance abuse risks, improve individual lives, and lessen societal burdens related to addiction,” he concluded.
Sources: EurekAlert, eLife